In honor of veterans this Veterans Day, Bristow Public Schools held assemblies at their schools on Monday November 11. Bristow Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary Post 3656, VFWA, attended the assembly for Bristow High School and Bristow Middle School students.
VFWA members Mary Stubblefield, Virginia Ray, and Ruth Jaytanie attended the assembly and passed out around 110 red poppies to attendees. Why poppies? Subsequent to some of the deadliest battles of World War I, poppies were among the first flowers to begin blooming in the fields where innumerable soldiers were killed.
The tie between poppies and fallen soldiers strengthened following the publication of a poem written by Canadian physician and Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae. Mc-Crae wrote “In Flanders Fields” in honor of his friend, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, who perished in the Second Battle of Ypres. Through his poem, McCrae renewed life for all those killed and buried in the poppy fields, reminding all to remember the fallen through the poppies that bloomed in the fields.
Since the publication of “In Flanders Fields”, red poppies have become international symbols of remembrance and honor of veterans’ service and sacrifices. As a result, Bristow VFWA members attend school Veterans Day assemblies each year and pass out poppies to attendees.